Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Treasury – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 16 November 2010.
George Osborne
The Chancellor of the Exchequer
2:30,
16 November 2010
This is what the former Chancellor said on "The Andrew Marr Show". Andrew Marr said:
"We now read from Peter Mandelson's book"- remember, he was in the Cabinet with the Shadow Chancellor-
"that you were quite keen on the idea of VAT going up."
Alistair Darling replied, "Well yeah, obviously".
We have taken the decisions necessary to restore some fiscal credibility to this country. We have a leaked memo from the shadow Chancellor's office. It states:
"Fiscal discipline is if anything more essential in Opposition than it is in government."
That is from the shadow Chancellor's office, but the truth is that he cannot tell us where a penny of his £44 billion spending cuts would come from. He had two tax policies until the weekend-on graduates and 50p-and announced that he did not agree with them. Frankly, until he gets his act together and comes forward with a credible economic policy, he will not be heard.
The Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
The shadow cabinet is the name given to the group of senior members from the chief opposition party who would form the cabinet if they were to come to power after a General Election. Each member of the shadow cabinet is allocated responsibility for `shadowing' the work of one of the members of the real cabinet.
The Party Leader assigns specific portfolios according to the ability, seniority and popularity of the shadow cabinet's members.
